


pond fishing

by stover



Series: rest your weary bones [2]
Category: The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess
Genre: Cat, Fishing, Gen, Mute!Link, Post-Canon, introspective
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-17
Updated: 2018-08-17
Packaged: 2019-06-28 18:03:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 677
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15712293
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/stover/pseuds/stover
Summary: Link returns to Ordona and tries to catch a fish for the cat.





	pond fishing

**Author's Note:**

> Prompt fill: "Link trying to fish" ([x](http://s-tover.tumblr.com/post/177093002920/prompt-link-trying-to-fish))

The cat got out again. This was the second time.

He’d gotten back a little over a week ago, and most of Ordona had stopped everything to spend a little time celebrating his return. It was a small village, and he had no family to call his own, so Link had grown to see everyone in the village as his family. That was fairly common in Hyrule these days.

The cat was a different matter. It was charming, to say the least, but could also be a stubborn terror. Right now, it’d gone to the pond and had slipped off the dock again. Mewling and hissing, it flailed under water.

Link reached out to grab it. By the time he’d pulled the creature back to land, half his arm was covered in scratches and his tunic well-splattered with pond water. Unlike the dog he’d pulled from the pond years ago, the cat had scampered off immediately without a care. Link could hear it hissing and yowling in a sunny patch under a tree far from the pond. 

Taking pity, Link took a quick trip back to his home to pick up the fishing rod gifted to him, and returned to the pond. It was old, and according to its craftsman in sore need of fresh paint and wood varnish, but he liked it just the way it was. It was what he’d taken long with him on his long journey years ago, and had fed him well on nights he was forced to wander endlessly through the fields. It’d even come in handy in battle, thought that was a short lived experience.

When he returned to the pond, the cat was again seated at the dock. It leaned forward, one of its paws hovered just above the water’s edge. Link stopped to sit at the bench some distance away to let it have a second try. He was surprised to see, after a brief, still moment, the cat plopping into the water after yet another failed attempt to catch a meal. This time, Link let it fight on its own. He had no intention of sticking his hand in places it wasn’t welcome, and the cat was old enough now to know how to get out on its own.

He couldn’t help but laugh when it finally emerged, a wet and sodden mess that slunk up the shore like a miserable thing. It ignored him completely, slinking past him to dry out in the sun by another tree.

With the dock now cleared, Link rose to his feet. He stopped short of the edge and reeled his arm back before casting his line. The familiar sound of his old bait breaking the water’s surface brought him at once back to the open fields in Hyrule. If he closed his eyes, he could smell the sweet grass wafting in the gentle winds, the sun warm on his back.

The line went untouched for some time. By then, the cat had returned to the dock, this time content to lay down at his side. It watched the placid surface of the pond just as he did, and made no movement telling of life.

There were no fish here worth eating for man, but there were plenty for this creature. Hardly anyone fished for keeps here, but the line and bait needed testing somewhere, and to go beyond the gate was certain death for most here in Ordona, so the minnows knew to be wary of any foreign treat. 

Still, there were some daring enough to bite. On a good day, they had nothing more than a frightful trip to the surface world, returning to familiar waters once they’d bee released.

Today was not one of those days.

At the first tug, Link grasped the line. Beside him, the cat leapt to its feet, looking intently at the taut line. Link pulled sharply back, leaving not a second to waste, and brought the line clear out of the water.

A boot.

The cat, disappointed, slunk away. 

Watching it, Link laughed.

**Author's Note:**

> "s-tover" on tumblr. Drop a prompt or say hi.


End file.
